Hand-truck



' W.-DUNHAM.

HAND mucx.

. APPLICATION FILED DEC-26. '9'9. I 1,365,232. Patented Jan.-11, 1921.

2 SHEEISSHEET l- ZQE W. DUNHAM. HAND TRUCK.

APPLICATION FILED DEC.26. 1 919.

Patnted Jan! 11, 1921.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2- pull the drum out from its nested relation, which requires the services of two men, one of whom must then tip the-drum backwardly UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE,

WILLIAM DUNHAM, BARBERTON, OHIO, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF T0 COLUMBIA CHEMICAL COMPANY, OFBARBERTON, OHIO, A CORPORATION OF PENNSYLVANIA.

Hahn-TRUCK.

I Specii i cat io n of Letters Patent.

Patented Jan. 11,1921.

Application filed December 26, 1919. Serial No. 347,402.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, WILLIAM DUNHAM, a citizen of the United States, residing at Barberton, in the county of Summit and State of Ohio, have inventedcertain new and useful Improvementsin Hand-Trucks, of which the following-is a specification.

This invention relates to hand trucks,

such as are used. in warehouses or other places for moving heavy articles from place to place. The invention has inore particular relation to hand trucks'for use in handling barrels, casks or drums,of either bilged or cylindrical form, all of which will hereinafter be referred to as drums. I

In many cases it is necessary to move from one place to another a series of drums introduced into holdingposition because of the nested relation of the drum with other drums. Consequently it is necessary to first while the other pushes in the truck. Rolling the drums through the warehouse also causes them to collect dirt and foreign mat-' ter. Complete handling of the drum with a truck without rolling on the floor is also desirable because the. ordinary truck does not permit a drum carried thereby to be deposited in up-ended closely nested rela tion with other drums, but it-is necessary to first deposit the drum in a position away from the other drums and'then move it up Y to nestingrelation with the others.- Indeed the necesslty-for so much manual moving of the drums from and to the ordinary hand truck has made it difiicult to induce laborers to attempt the heavy duty. 1

The present invention has for its object to provide an improved truck for handling 1 drums, said truck being soarranged-as to enablea single operator, without assistance,

to readily pick up an up-ended drum in and arrangement of the described and claimed.

handle portions 3 inserted therein.

closely nested relation with others, deposit the same in seated or holding relation upon the truck, wheel it to any desired position,

and there directly deposit it in closely nested relation with other drums. Further objects of the invention are in part obvious and in part willappear more in detail hereinafter.

The inventlon comprlses the construction parts hereinafter In the drawings Figure 1 represents a side elevation of the truck up-ended and nested with a drum preparatory to depositing the drum upon the truck; Fig. 2 is a rcarview of the truck; Fig. 3 is asectional view on'the line 3-3, Fig. 2, the truck wheels and axles being omitted for clearness of illustration Fig. 4 is a similar section on the line l-4, Fig. 2; Fig. 5 is a View corresponding to Fig. 1 and illustrating the truck and drum in tilted position; Fig. 6 is a rear view thereof; and Fig. 7 is a sectional view on the line 7-7 Fi 2.

a a g The truck shown in the drawings comprises a suitable frame including two parallel side members 1 which are shown as formed mainly of channel members 2 with Said side members are connectedby cross braces,

such a the straight members 4 and curved members 5, the latter forming a concave seat or recess for the drum 6, which, when in verticalnested relation with the truclncxtends into and fills the seat, as shown in Fig.

3 so that its side wall, on the truck side, is approximately in the same vertical plane as the several straight brace members 4.- and is consequently in the same vertical plane as the heels or lower rear corners 7 of the side truck members. The frame is also provided with an axle 8 and wheels 9, said axle being located on the side frame members a greater distance from the ends thereof than the radius of the wheels, as a result of which, as shown in Fig. 1, the wheels are above the level of the floor when the truck is vertical. The purpose ofthis construction will hereafter appear. The side frame members may also be provided with the usual feet 9 to support the upper portion of the truck when it is lying in horizontal position.

The truck so far described is essentially a strong frame mounted upon wheels and --provided with a cylindrical seat for the drum. Of course, if the drums to be handled are of the bilged form the shapes and positions of the cross braces and also of the side frame members will be modified to form a bilged seat. To satisfy all requirements the truck must be provided with suitable means for preventing the drum from sliding or moving upon the truck while the truck is being wheeled to the new position. According to the present invention the holding means necessary for this purpose comprises relatively small toes or claws mounted near the lower ends of the side frame members and movable on said side members so as to be capable of being extended into the truck seat, or, in other words, of being moved into engaging relation with the lower chime of the drum for holding the same. The side members of the truck are provided with perforated blocks or supports 10 for longitudinally extending shafts 11 provided at their lower ends with laterally extending portions 12 forming the toes or claws before referred to. as near the front portions of the side members as possible in order to bring them into close juxtaposition with the drum to be carried, as shown in Fig. 3. By rotation or oscillation of said shafts the toes or claws thereon can be turned frointhe full line to the dotted line positions, Fig. 8, so as to lie either outside of or within the boundaries of the seat for the drum to be carried.

Suitable means is provided for actuating said toes or claws. In the first place the shafts 11 are mounted to have slight longitudinal motion in their supports. When the truck is up-ended in the vertical position, as shown in Figs. 1 and 7', the toes 12 extend outwardly through openings 13 in the channel members, but as the truck is tilted backwardly upon the rear corners 7 as an axis toward the position shown in Fig. 5, the longitudinal shafts 11 and the toes l2 thereon drop by gravity to the position shown in Fig. 5. Each shaft is provided with an arm 14, said two arms being connected to links 15 pivotally connected to a disk 16 pivoted at 17 to a longitudinal brace of the frame. Said disk is provided with an operating handle 18. By turning said disk the eccentric connection of the links 15 thereto produces oscillating movement of the shafts 11, the movements of the two shafts being in opposite directions. Fig. 2 illustrates the position of the parts when the toes 12 are in the full line position, Fig. 3, but by turning the arm 18 in the clock-wise direction Fig. 2 approximately 180 the toes are moved in to the dotted line position, Fig. 3, in which they are extended into the drum seat. v

The truck is also provided near its upper portion, at a level approximating the level of the top of a drum to be carried, with binding it to the truck.

These shafts are located.

suitable means for engaging said drum and This might be a chain of suitable length fastened at one end to the truck and designed to be looped around the upper portion of the drum and secured at its other end to the truck. The drawings show for this purpose a latch 20 pivoted'at 21 to one of the braces and having an operating handle at 22. At about the center of the truck said'latch is provided with a hooked portion 23 so that by moving said latch into the position shown in Figs. 2 and 5-,,said hook can be engaged over the upper chime of the barrel. At the same time a portion 24 of the latch embraces a cross brace ofthe frame so that the drum is firmly bound to the truck. I

In operation the toes 12 are moved outwardly to the full line position, Fig. 3, and the truck is closely nested with a drum, as shown in Fig.1. 1 Even if several drums are up-ended and nested together the truck can be nested with a single drum because its side frame members will enter the spaces between drums. The latch'2O is then engaged with the upper chime of the drum. The operator then grasps the handles 3 and tilts the truck and drum to the position shown in Figs. 3 and 5. The long leverage enables a single operator to perform this tilting movement even though the drum weighs seven or eight hundred pounds. It is also necessary to tilt the drum away from the operator. During the tilting movement the truck turns about an axis through the rear corners '7 of the frame members and not on its wheels which are off from the tloor.- The .drum also tilts about the same axis, as its side wall extends into the truck seat to practically a vertical plane through said axis. Therefore, both truck .ancLdrum tilt as a .unit. As the parts tilt the toes 12 drop to the lower position shown in Fig. 5 and by turning the disk 16 are moved to the dotted line position Fig. 3, in which position said toes are beneath the drum chime and will support said drum and prevent it from sliding longitudinally upon the truck. The truck is then tilted further until the wheels reach the floor, after which the truck and drumgcan be located to any desired place. By reversing the operations the truck can be tilted upwardly until the drum engages the floor, after which the disk 16 is reversely rotated to withdraw the toes 12 from their positions beneath the drum and retract them to the position shown in full lines Fig. 3. The truck and drum may be tilted immediately in that positionwhich allows the drum to drop into closely nested relation with other drums. In other words the drum can be directly deposited from the truck in nested relation with other drums and without the necessity of afterward slid ing it along the floor.

The truck described is also capable of use with articles of other than cylindrical or bulged form.

WVhat I claim is:

l. A hand truck provided with a frame and wheels thereon, said frame being formed to provide a seat for a drum, and movable means on said frame adapted when the truck is tilted to be moved into said seat beneath a tilted article thereon.

2. A hand truck, comprising a frame having wheels and a concave seat for receiving an article, and movable means at the sides of said frame adapted when the truck is tilted to be moved into holding relation beneath the lower edge portion of a tilted article lying in said seat.

3. A hand truck, comprising a frame having side members, wheels thereon, and movable toes carried by the side members of said frame and shiftable into holding relation beneath the bottom of a tilted article nesting with the truck.

4. A hand truck, comprising a frame having wheels near one end and handles at its other end, article engaging means adjacent the handle end of the frame, and means at the other end of the truck movable on the,

frame into holding position beneath the bottom of a tilted article.

5. A hand truck, comprising a frame having side members, wheels on said frame so located as to be out of contact with the floor when the truck is up ended, and article supporting members movable on the frame into position beneath the bottom of an article lying on the truck and in tilted position on the floor.

6. A hand truck, comprising a frame having side members, wheels thereon, and article engaging members having lateral movement on said side frame members into holding relation with the bottom of an article resting in tilted position on the truck and floor.

7. A hand truck, comprising a frame having side members, wheels thereon, and article engaging members having oscillating movement about axes parallel with said side members.

8. A hand truck, comprising a frame having side members, wheels thereon, article engaging members having oscillating movement about axes parallel with said side members, and means for operating said engaging members.

9. A hand truck, comprising a frame having side members, wheels thereon, article engaging members having oscillating movement about axes parallel with said side members, and operating means connected to said article engaging members for producing opposite movement thereof.

10. A hand truck, comprising a frame having side members, wheels thereon, and article engaging members having oscillating movement about axes parallel with said side members, said article engaging members lying near the lower ends of the side frame members and also having longitudinal movement relative thereto.

11. A hand truck, comprising a frame having side members, wheels thereon, article engaging members having oscillating movement about axes parallel with said side members, said article engaging members lying near the lower ends of the side frame members and also having longitudinal movement relative thereto, and operating means for said article engaging members.

7 In testimony whereof I afiix my signature.

WILLIAM DUNHAM. 

